Apple Ads Only Account For 9.4% Of Smartphone Video Shares

New consumer tech research paper finds that sony PS4 console commercials are 9x more popular than Microsoft Xbox One videos.

NEW YORK, LONDON, STOCKHOLM, PARIS – September 5, 2013 – Apple’s social video advertising strategy is underperforming. That’s according to a new report and infographic released today by video technology company Unruly, which found that Apple iPhone commercials account for only 9.4% of smartphone video shares.

The report found that Apple’s ads are not only being left behind by rivals such as Nokia and Samsung, but that commercials for Apple’s iPhone 5 underperformed significantly – even when compared to its own previous models. Ads for the iPhone 4S attracted 2.5 times more shares than those for the iPhone 5.

Unruly has also compiled a video chart of the most shared smartphone ads, which will track the success of commercials promoting the Apple iPhone 5S and other upcoming models over the coming weeks.

As well as smartphones, the new report also looked at some of the key battles in the tablet, video game console, video game and web browser markets in the run-up to the holiday season, identifying which brands’ commercials are attracting the most attention online – and which desperately need an upgrade.

Other key findings from the report are:

Newer is not always better – In addition to volume of shares, the share rate was also a lot better for the Apple iPhone 4S, with 1 in 10 people who have viewed ads for the Apple iPhone 4S going on to share them, versus 1 in 56 for the Apple iPhone 5;

Game On – Sony’s PS4 console has a clear lead over Microsoft’s Xbox One. Its videos have generated 90% of the shares and 91% of the views between the two;

Grand Theft Auto steals march on rivals – Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V videos have attracted the most buzz among the big games due to be launched this year, attracting 48% of the video shares;

Quantity over quality – Samsung ads dominate the smartphone market, attracting more than half of the total number of shares. However, Samsung’s dominance is largely due to sheer number of videos launched. On average, it took Samsung ads 35 views to generate a share compared with Blackberry (1:11), Apple (1:23), Nokia (1:26) and Sony (1:34). In terms of overall shares, Nokia was second with 17.4%, while Apple was third with only 9.4%;

Surface rises to the top – Microsoft’s Surface had the two most shared tablet ads of all time, ahead of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1, which came in third;

Battle of the Browsers – Google Chrome has attracted almost 70% of the total all-time shares. However, Microsoft Internet Explorer’s ads have eaten away at Google’s dominance significantly over the last 12 months, accounting for 88.6% of the shares.

Unruly has also summarized the key stats from the research paper in an infographic. To download it, click here.

Unruly COO and co-founder Sarah Wood said: “Consumer tech has completely transformed over the past decade. In such a fast-moving environment, where innovation is key to grabbing consumers’ attention, brands need a fast-paced medium to market their products.

“Because social video can be emotionally powerful and at the same time also extremely informative about new products or features, it offers a massive opportunity for brands in the run-up to the holiday season.”

With social video advertising being shown to increase purchase intent by up to 103% (Source: Decipher) and word-of-mouth now being the primary factor behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions (Source: McKinsey), it has never been more important for a brand to get its video content and distribution strategies right.

However, as consumers part with their cash and spend big on the latest gadgets and games, it’s a message that is simply being ignored by a lot of brands in the sector.

Tech lags significantly behind other sectors, with ads for videogames, smartphones, web browsers and tablets only generating 8.9% of the total number of shares*. FMCG/CPG, Retail and Entertainment and Autos attracted 29.4%, 19.7%, 10.9% and 10.1% respectively.

To see how consumer tech products are stacking up against each other, please view our infographic here or download the white paper here.

To access bespoke data on your own social video performance, to predict the shareability of your branded content or to cut through the clutter and get your video watched by an audience of almost a billion consumers, contact Unruly at hello@unrulymedia.com.

Methodology

Data in this report is supplied by Unruly Analytics™, a cloud-based dashboard which measures the social video performance of 1,300 brands across all verticals, and also includes survey data compiled from more than 16,073 participants by research company Decipher.

The data used in Unruly Analytics also powers the Unruly Viral Video Chart™, which has been trusted since 2006 by advertisers worldwide to track their video content and has tracked over 365 billion video views worldwide.

*Based on an analysis of the top 100 most shared ads of all time

About Unruly

Video technology company Unruly is the leading global platform for social video marketing and works with top brands and their agencies to predict the emotional impact of their videos and get them watched, tracked and shared across paid, owned and earned media. We use our proprietary technology to turn target audiences into engaged viewers and engaged viewers into customers and advocates. Our end-to-end solution cracks the code on social video sharing. Brands can predict shareability with Unruly Labs, engage their audience with Unruly Activate and prove social ROI with Unruly Analytics where we provide real-time competitive benchmarks across 2.7 million customizable data points.

The Unruly Viral Video Chart has tracked 365 billion video views since 2006. With an engaged audience of over a billion consumers, across the full range of mobile, tablet and second screen devices, Unruly has delivered, tracked and audited 3.5 billion video views across 3,000+ social video campaigns for over 400 brands including Volkswagen, Dove, Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Warner Bros and adidas. We’ve worked with 60% of Interbrand’s Top 100 Best Global Brand and our mission is to deliver the most awesome social video advertising campaigns on the planet.

Founded in 2006, Unruly has 12 offices and employs over 130 people globally. In 2012, Unruly secured a $25 million Series A investment led by Amadeus, Van den Ende & Deitmers and Business Growth Fund – the largest ever for a private company in the social video space. The company has won over 15 awards including “Best Content Distribution Service” at the Braves Awards; “Digital Innovator of the Year” at the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100; “International Management Team of the Year” at the BVCA Awards 2013 and #14 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA.